Ultra-low Cost Research Articles

Ask Less, Get More: Side-Channel Signal Hiding, Revisited

Signal hiding countermeasures have been extensively investigated in the early side-channel attacks’ literature. Due to design and physical imperfections, their stand-alone use only leads to a limited reduction of the attacks’ complexity. As a result, more algorithmic countermeasures providing a more formal cost vs. security tradeoff (e.g., shuffling and masking) have gained more attention. Yet, since the cost associated with these is high, designers aim at combining countermeasures, leveraging the strength of each. In this manuscript, we demonstrate that by asking less to both signal hiding and algorithmic countermeasures (as stand-alone), we can develop combined countermeasures that indeed provide higher security at lower cost. For this purpose, we show how we can stack signal reduction and amplitude randomization techniques with ultra low cost automatic design flows and standard tools, and reach attractive security levels in combination with masking. Concretely, we examine two natural strategies for signal hiding and their combination: namely WDDL and a simple, local, scalable and easy-to-implement noise generation engine. A 65nm technology ASIC is evaluated with multiple isolated AES cores, leveraging recent information theoretic bounds which are connected to masking security proofs, significantly reducing the side-channel information leakage. We further quantify performance gains for masked designs.

Software development firmware system for broken rotor bar detection and diagnosis of induction motor through current signature analysis

The induction motors (IMs) are undoubtedly the most used machines in industries because of the advantages they offer such as simplicity, service continuity and low cost. Due to wear and tear, the motor suffers different types of mechanical and electrical failures. Depending on the criticality of the plant motors, it could be necessary to implement predictive techniques in order to detect the faults before they can cause unnecessary downtime. Therefore, in this paper, the research approach was to develop a low cost measurement system based on a micro controller platform for machine diagnosis. The FRDM K64F developing board was selected as the most suitable for satisfying the system conditions, and it was used to collect induction motor`s current data. In order to validate the accuracy of the developed system, the Frequency Transfer Functions (FRF) of the developed measurement system and the standard system (NI USB-6009) were compare. It showed a flat frequency spectrum from 0 to 1 KHz, with small fluctuations of about 0.25 dB standard deviation. A fully automated test bench was implemented, which allows to perform all the measurement tests with the IMs, and in this case, the detection and diagnosis of broken bars. Around 240 tests were performed with varying loads, different rotation speeds, and with different severity damage levels in the rotor. The data analysis procedure for broken rotor bar detection and motor diagnosis was performed by the Motor Current Signature Analysis (MCSA), FFT and Enveloped Analysis (EA). Finally, the research approach was successfully accomplished, by the team by developing a software firmware measurement ultra-low cost development platform for machine diagnosis. It was also developed a proper antialiasing filter to reduce industrial noise. The effectiveness of the proposed system is detecting a weak fault in a noise signal. It was found out a new consistent and robust parameter called the pole pass frequency (fpsf), which could be used as a diagnosis parameter for detection of broken rotor bars faults, with their damage severity degree. The detected parameter can be found around 2.6 Hz, and it increases in amplitude with increasing damage severity.

A Layered Cationic Aluminum Oxyhydroxide as a Highly Efficient and Selective Trap for Heavy Metal Oxyanions.

Cationic framework materials, especially pure inorganic cationic frameworks that can efficiently and selectively capture harmful heavy metal oxyanions from aqueous solution are highly desired yet scarcely reported. Herein, we report the discovery of a 2D cationic aluminum oxyhydroxide, JU-111, which sets a new benchmark for heavy metal oxyanion sorbents, especially for CrVI . Its structure was solved based on 3D electron diffraction tomography data. JU-111 shows fast sorption kinetics (ca. 20 min), high capture capacity (105.4 mg g-1 ), and broad working pH range (3-10) toward CrVI oxyanions. Unlike layered double hydroxides (LDHs), which are poorly selective in the presence of CO3 2- , JU-111 retains excellent selectivity for CrVI even under a large excess of CO3 2- . These superior features coupled with the ultra-low cost and environmentally benign nature make JU-111 a promising candidate for toxic metal oxyanion remediation as well as other potential applications.

Pulse Width Insensitive Design and Verification Methods

Many embedded controllers have some critical system states that depend on an asynchronous event. Currently handling them in design depends on the availability of always-on slow clocks. In this paper we present a generic asynchronous design scheme that doesn't require a clock and ensure a reliable functionality without associated deadlock scenarios sensitive to exact arrival times of asynchronous events. This is enabled by a novel pulse width insensitive design method, which also requires unconventional verification methodology that ensures thorough and comprehensive pre-silicon design quality. These have been applied on the latest, ultra-low cost embedded micro-controller design targeted for cost sensitive applications.

Evaluating the potential of carbohydrate-rich microalga Rhodosorus sp. SCSIO-45730 as a feedstock for biofuel and β-glucans using strategies of phosphate optimization and low-cost harvest

With the increase of global energy consumption, bioenergy from microalgae has been recognized as a potential alternative choice. A novel carbohydrate-rich microalgal strain, isolated from Xisha Islands (China), was identified as Rhodosorus sp. SCSIO-45730. To accumulate biomass for bioenergy production, strategies of phosphate optimization and chitosan flocculation were used to evaluate its potential for the production of biomass, total carbohydrates, and β-glucans. The biomass of this alga reached 12.3 ± 0.1 g L−1 in vertical bubble column photobioreactors at the phosphate concentration of 120 mg L−1, and the productivities of total carbohydrates and β-glucans maximized up to 242.6 ± 2.3 mg L−1 day−1 and 108.1 ± 4.0 mg L−1 day−1, respectively. Simultaneously, flocculation results demonstrated that the recovery rate of the biomass, total carbohydrates, and β-glucans were over 90% at a low chitosan concentration of 3 mg L−1. The flocs were easily collected and washed through a 300-mesh bolting cloth, presenting an ultralow harvest cost of 2.93 US$ per tonne of biomass. In summary, addition of suitable phosphate and flocculation with low chitosan concentration could be effective strategies to enhance the commercial potential of Rhodosorus sp. SCSIO–45730 as a feedstock for biofuel and β-glucans.

Ultra-low cost, smart sensor based on pyrite FeS2 on cellulose paper for the determination of vital plant hormone methyl jasmonate

Methyl jasmonate (MeJa), a vital phytohormone plays a crucial role in plant growth and defense mechanisms to protect plants against biotic as well as abiotic stresses. Therefore, easy and accurate detection of MeJa in a user-friendly, comprehensive manner by farmers is of utmost significance in agriculture. This work reports a first of its kind ultra-low-cost pyrite FeS2 based smart sensor on flexible paper substrate for determination of MeJa with a detection limit of 0.2 mM, excellent selectivity, reproducibility, and high sensitivity. Firstly, the electrochemical sensor based on pyrite FeS2 exhibited a sensitivity of 412.2 μA.mM−1.cm−2 (R2 = 0.971) in the physiologically relevant range of 0.25–1.5 mM and 230.4 μA.mM−1.cm−2 (R2 = 0.990) in the region of 1.5–4.5 mM of MeJa. This significant enhancement in the analytical performances of the FeS2 sensor can be ascribed to the high conductivity of the pyrite FeS2, large surface area resulting from its microspheres like morphology comprising of interwoven vertically grown nano-sheets and the presence of defects in FeS2 structure. Further, wireless monitoring of MeJa was achieved by direct growth of pyrite FeS2 on cellulose paper by hydrothermal method and its integration with the microcontroller, from where the data collected was transported to a smartphone via Bluetooth, thus facilitating remote sensing. The pyrite FeS2 based disposable, chemi-resistive sensor displayed limit of detection of 0.68 mM and excellent sensitivity of 12.24 ± 1.4% mM−1 (R2 = 0.96) in the range of 1–2.5 mM of MeJa. The development of such low-cost nano-material based disposable sensor is a huge step ahead in the fabrication of affordable, next-generation lab-on-chip devices for analytical applications.

The design and experiment of stardust femto-satellite

A femto-satellite usually has ultra low cost and light weight. Thus, a cluster of femto-satellites is able to be deployed massively in a large scale and can reduce difficulties of some aerospace missions such as space multi-point collaborative measurement. Wireless self-organized network can be rapidly established without pre-deployment of fixed infrastructures and thus can make it possible for femto-satellites to collect data of distributed measurement. This paper introduces Stardust, a cluster of femto-satellites, to exploit their capacity of distributed measurement in the space. The design of Stardust consists of subsystems, space self-organized networking and thermal control. After the satellites were launched into the low earth orbit, experiments were carried out to verify the distributed measurement performance including multi-point wireless networking and measurement of the geomagnetic field. Results show that Stardust can work properly and effectively in a long period, which is proved to be a good reference for future femto-satellite design and space distributed measurement systems.

Significantly improved high-rate partial-state-of-charge performance of lead-acid batteries induced by trace amount of graphene oxide nanosheets

• Trace amount of GONs is incorporated into the NAMs of LABs through a novel and simple way. • The NAMs containing 2 ppm GONs presents a spongy-like structure composed of porous Pb sticks. • Sulfation is suppressed due to the acceleration of the redox reaction between Pb and PbSO 4 . • The HRPSoC cycling life of the simulated cell increased by more than 1.4 times to 29,971 cycles. • The hydrogen generation almost has not any improvement because of the trace GONs content. In this work, trace amount of graphene oxide nanosheets (GONs) is incorporated into the negative active materials (NAMs) of lead-acid batteries (LABs) using an innovative and simple way. The effect of GONs on the morphologies, structures and compositions of the synthesized GONs-containing NAMs are investigated. It is observed that after formation, the NAMs containing 2 ppm GONs presents a spongy-like structure comprised of one-dimensional (1D) porous Pb sticks. Such a 1D structure of Pb sticks provides fast electron transport channel, while the pores on Pb sticks and the voids among Pb sticks facilitate electrolyte transportation. Therefore, accumulation of PbSO 4 crystals is greatly suppressed. Several electrochemical methods such as cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy are used to understand the enhancement mechanism. It is found that the high-rate partial-state-of-charge (HRPSoC) cycling life of the simulated cell is increased by more than 1.4 times from 21,305 to 29,971 cycles. Although the electrochemical performance of NAMs is significantly improved, the hydrogen generation does not have any promotion because of the trace GONs content. The results demonstrate that our method is of great convenient and ultra-low cost with feasibility in large-scale application in LABs industry. Significantly improvement on the electrochemical performance of NAMs by incorporation of trace amount of GONs.

A Universal Approach to Aqueous Energy Storage via Ultralow-Cost Electrolyte with Super-Concentrated Sugar as Hydrogen-Bond-Regulated Solute.

Aqueous energy-storage systems have attracted wide attention due to their advantages such as high security, low cost, and environmental friendliness. However, the specific chemical properties of water induce the problems of narrow electrochemical stability window, low stability of water-electrode interface reactions, and dissolution of electrode materials and intermediate products. Therefore, new low-cost aqueous electrolytes with different water chemistry are required. The nature of water depends largely on its hydroxyl-based hydrogen bonding structure. Therefore, the super-concentrated hydroxyl-rich sugar solutions are designed to change the original hydrogen bonding structure of water. The super-concentrated sugars can reduce the free water molecules and destroy the tetrahedral structure, thus lowering the binding degree of water molecules by breaking the hydrogen bonds. The ionic electrolytes based on super-concentrated sugars have the expanded electrochemical stability window (up to 2.812 V), wide temperature adaptability (-50 to 80 °C), and fair ionic conductivity (8.536 mS cm-1 ). Aqueous lithium-, sodium-, potassium-ion batteries and supercapacitors using super-concentrated sugar-based electrolytes demonstrate an excellent electrochemical performance. The advantages of ultralow cost and high universality enable a great practical application potential of the super-concentrated sugar-based aqueous electrolytes, which can also provide great experimental and theoretical assistance for further research in water chemistry.

Edge Couplers in Silicon Photonic Integrated Circuits: A Review

Silicon photonics has drawn increasing attention in the past few decades and is a promising key technology for future daily applications due to its various merits including ultra-low cost, high integration density owing to the high refractive index of silicon, and compatibility with current semiconductor fabrication process. Optical interconnects is an important issue in silicon photonic integrated circuits for transmitting light, and fiber-to-chip optical interconnects is vital in application scenarios such as data centers and optical transmission systems. There are mainly two categories of fiber-to-chip optical coupling: off-plane coupling and in-plane coupling. Grating couplers work under the former category, while edge couplers function as in-plane coupling. In this paper, we mainly focus on edge couplers in silicon photonic integrated circuits. We deliver an introduction to the research background, operation mechanisms, and design principles of silicon photonic edge couplers. The state-of-the-art of edge couplers is reviewed according to the different structural configurations of the device, while identifying the performance, fabrication feasibility, and applications. In addition, a brief comparison between edge couplers and grating couplers is conducted. Packaging issues are also discussed, and several prospective techniques for further improvements of edge couplers are proposed.

Investigation of an Ultra Wideband Noise Sensor for Health Monitoring.

Quick on-scene assessment and early intervention is the key to reduce the mortality of stroke and trauma patients, and it is highly desirable to develop ambulance-based diagnostic and monitoring devices in order to provide additional support to the medical personnel. We developed a compact and low cost ultra wideband noise sensor for medical diagnostics and vital sign monitoring in pre-hospital settings. In this work, we demonstrated the functionality of the sensor for respiration and heartbeat monitoring. In the test, metronome was used to manipulate the breathing pattern and the heartbeat rate reference was obtained with a commercial electrocardiogram (ECG) device. With seventeen tests performed for respiration rate detection, sixteen of them were successfully detected. The results also show that it is possible to detect the heartbeat rate accurately with the developed sensor.

Fast enzyme-linked electrochemical sensing of DNA hybridization at pencil graphite electrodes. Application to detect gene deletion in a human cell culture

In this paper we present a rapid electrochemical enzyme-linked DNA hybridization assay using disposable pencil graphite electrodes (PeGE) to detect target DNA (tDNA) sequences in DNA fragments amplified by polymerase chain reaction. The procedure consists of several short (1–2 min) incubation steps, including adsorption of the tDNA at unpretreated PeGE from denaturing medium, surface blocking with milk proteins, hybridization with a biotinylated oligonucleotide probe and binding of streptavidin-alkaline phosphatase conjugate to the biotin tags. Then the PeGE is transferred into background electrolyte solution containing 1-naphthyl phosphate, which is enzymatically dephosphorylated to give electrochemically oxidizable indicator 1-naphthol. The assay, which can be performed within 7–8 min, offers a perfect discrimination between specific and nonspecific DNA amplicons and easy detection of about ~40 femtomoles of tDNA in large excesses of non-complementary DNA. An application on the detection of p53 gene deletion in a human cell culture, featuring a real biological model, is presented. The designed setup has a potential to be applied as one of simple, fast, robust ultralow cost “do-it-yourself “instruments recently introduced as diagnostic tools for third world countries.

Directly writing flexible temperature sensor with graphene nanoribbons for disposable healthcare devices.

Disposable temperature sensors have great advantages in public health security and infectious disease control. However, complicated fabrication processes and poor performances persistently restrict their practical applications. In this paper, a flexible temperature sensor is firstly developed by directly writing or mask spraying commonly-used paper with a highly thermo-sensitive graphene nanoribbon (GNR) ink. The inexpensive, green materials and process endow the GNR sensors with the properties of being low cost, degradable and pollution free. The band gap and the local traps of GNRs, caused by the nanoscale effect and oxygen doping, make the sensor highly thermo-sensitive. The sensor also shows fast response, precise resolution and good bendable properties. As demonstrated, the sensor achieves monitoring of respiratory rate, measurement of body temperature, identification of human touch and constituting a 5 × 5 array for temperature mapping. These results demonstrate that the GNRs sensor is highly promising as an economical disposable device for personal healthcare and disease monitoring.

Operation Performance and Economic Efficiency Analysis of Power Plant Boilers Ultra-low Emission Facilities

In this paper, four units of a power plant are taken as the research object, and the air pollutant emission performance standards, equipment installed economic efficiency, operational economic efficiency and energy saving potential of four units using different technical methods for ultra-low emission transformation are analyzed. Take unit 4 as an example, the ultra-low emission operation cost is discussed. The results show that the operation performance, stability and reliability of some units of low-temperature economizer need to be improved; the K values of different ultra-low emission technology methods were between 7.6∼12kW/MW. The installation of a low temperature economizer allows the wet desulfurization facility to have a greater water saving capacity.

An Ultra Low Cost Highly Reliable 18–22 GHz T/R Front-End With Adaptive Sensitivity, Rx Absorptive Calibration, and Fast Switching Time for Phased-Array Radars Applications

This letter proposes a fully integrated K-band front-end architecture for radars targeting extremely low NRE and RE. The RF front-end is composed of an SPDT-less half-duplex low-noise variable gain amplifier (LNVGA) co-designed with a power amplifier (PA) and an Rx coupler for A/ ${\varphi }$ calibration. The design architecture is built to answer to the multirange detection requirement of many phased-array applications and optimize their calibration in an array configuration. The half-duplex receiver has a gain ≥25 dB between 18 and 22 GHz and is integrating a current steering gain control mechanism for changing the Rx IP1dB up to −5 dBm. For this lowest sensitivity, the minimum 6.5-dB noise figure is affected by only 0.3 dB and conserves an AM-to-PM ≤2°. The half-duplex transmitter has a 34-dB small-signal gain and delivers at 20 GHz an output power of +18 dBm with a PAE of 16 % at 4-dB compression. The calibration circuit degrades the Rx noise figure by only 0.1-dB NF while acting as a coupler with 18-dB coupling and 21-dB directivity. The circuit with all its periphery can switch between Tx and Rx in less than 15 ns. Compared to the previous works in similar technology, performances were significantly improved. Despite the very low cost 180-nm CMOS process used, this SPDT-less T/R front-end architecture demonstrates excellent performances for radar applications at K-band frequencies, therefore, presenting a high performance-to-cost ratio. In terms of reliability, this circuit is designed for a life time of more than 106 h under HCI and TTBD degradations at continuous waves.

Direct growth of FeS2 on paper: A flexible, multifunctional platform for ultra-low cost, low power memristor and wearable non-contact breath sensor for activity detection

This is the first demonstration of direct growth of iron pyrite (FeS2) via a single step hydrothermal route on low cost, biodegradable, flexible cellulose paper substrate which is further explored as a versatile multifunctional platform for memristor (with top and bottom electrodes) and wearable breath sensor (with planar contacts) which exhibits excellent switching and response respectively. XRD, EDAX studies confirmed the formation of crystalline pyrite FeS2. Memristor device exhibits excellent bipolar resistive switching mechanism at very low set, reset voltages i.e. +0.25 V, −0.5 V with a very low power consumption in the range of few micro to nano watts, decent switching ratio of 4 × 102, good data retention up to 2 × 104 s and excellent switching endurance up to 500 cycles. Furthermore, FeS2 grown on paper displayed excellent response towards exhaled breath exhibiting distinguished response towards oral and nasal breath. The sensor was employed in monitoring the exhaled breath pattern during dynamic movements like walking, running and jumping. The mechanism of sensing can be attributed to the conductivity and hydrophilic nature of sensor aiding in adsorption and desorption of the water molecules from the exhaled breath on to the FeS2 microspheres. The strategy outlined here, presents a low cost approach using iron and its pyrites which are abundant, non-toxic and also cost effective based flexible devices for multifunctional electronic applications.

A Distributed Ambient Backscatter MAC Protocol for Internet-of-Things Networks

Ambient backscatter communication enabling device-to-device (D2D) communications via the ambient radio frequency (RF) signal has revealed its numerous application potential in the Internet-of-Things (IoT) networks. However, the work on the link layer for the backscatter communication is in its infancy due to the constraints of ultralow power and cost in such a system, especially a channel access protocol in the backscatter communication system for IoT networks is rarely mentioned. In this article, a distributed multiple access control (MAC) protocol is presented, which allows multiple backscatter devices (BDs) to connect with each other by relying on the ambient RF signal. By combining an analog channel sensing strategy with the dual-backoff mechanism, each BD can switch among the transmission, receiving, and energy harvesting (EH) states. Specifically, each BD starts a randomly designated time for EH once the channel is sensed to be busy. As the timer expires, the BD ceases the EH and continues its sensing and backoff procedures. With the consideration of the false alarm and the miss detection problems occurring while sensing, an enhanced 3-D Markov model is built to analyze the saturation throughput performance of the proposed MAC protocol. Extensive simulations verify the analysis and demonstrate the advantage of the proposed backscatter MAC protocol.

Automated Low-Cost Photogrammetric Acquisition of 3D Models from Small Form-Factor Artefacts

The photogrammetric acquisition of 3D object models can be achieved by Structure from Motion (SfM) computation of photographs taken from multiple viewpoints. All-around 3D models of small artefacts with complex geometry can be difficult to acquire photogrammetrically and the precision of the acquired models can be diminished by the generic application of automated photogrammetric workflows. In this paper, we present two versions of a complete rotary photogrammetric system and an automated workflow for all-around, precise, reliable and low-cost acquisitions of large numbers of small artefacts, together with consideration of the visual quality of the model textures. The acquisition systems comprise a turntable and (i) a computer and digital camera or (ii) a smartphone designed to be ultra-low cost (less than $150). Experimental results are presented which demonstrate an acquisition precision of less than 40 μ m using a 12.2 Megapixel digital camera and less than 80 μ m using an 8 Megapixel smartphone. The novel contribution of this work centres on the design of an automated solution that achieves high-precision, photographically textured 3D acquisitions at a fraction of the cost of currently available systems. This could significantly benefit the digitisation efforts of collectors, curators and archaeologists as well as the wider population.

Enabling a Decentralized Smart Grid Using Autonomous Edge Control Devices

As a large number of distributed devices are connected to the modern smart grid, the traditional centralized connectivity models fail to provide economic value. These models have relied on sending data to the cloud for processing and receiving commands to exert control actions, resulting in an “on-demand system” with high bandwidth, low latency, and an overload of data on the cloud. For realizing a decentralized system, there is a strong need to embed intelligence at the “edge of the network.” These intelligent devices, capable of sensing, local data processing, and exerting control actions, report only actionable information to the cloud, acting as an edge control node. The system can then function autonomously, without constant cloud inputs, tolerating longer delays in communication, and making the overall system ultralow cost. The global asset monitoring, management, and analytics platform is a novel ultralow-cost, secure platform that operates through a Bluetooth-based delay tolerant network. It relies on so-called “data mules” to bridge the last mile connectivity gap in an inherently secure way. Due to this model, the platform requires no in-country certifications, does not rely on a dedicated backhaul technology and is immune to technology migration. This architecture also addresses some gaps identified in traditional Internet of Things-based solutions in remote areas and sparse connectivity. A functional unit of the edge computing node has been built, taking into account various constraints like costs, customizations, data storage, cybersecurity, and power management. The platform has been built, deployed and has demonstrated distributed smart grid applications like power quality sensing, automated metering infrastructure, and utility asset monitoring.

Tooth implant prosthesis using ultra low power and low cost crystalline carbon bio-tooth sensor with hybridized data acquisition algorithm

This paper proposes a tiny ultralow-power and low-cost tooth sensor with hybridized data processing algorithm for monitoring implant tooth implant prosthesis performance. In general micro displacement or any fatal damages in prosthesis tooth implant leads to various metabolic alterations in the body. This tiny ultra-low power and low-cost crystalline carbon bio-tooth sensor has been placed on tooth platform to monitor mouth and tooth bio-chemical nature which leads to check the prosthesis volume and its structural modification instantaneously in turn helps doctors to observe the metabolic alterations in the body. This wireless system has data loggers with hardware and software power-saving modes for ultra-lower application for reducing sensor idle state condition has been monitored using a hybridized acquisition algorithm. Clinical Trials of the lab-scale experimental analysis equipped with data logger device are analyzed on 15 patients on various factors such as noise factor, power consumption, accuracy, efficiency, stability and sensitivity of the sensor output characteristic has been recorded.